


Of gender and related things

by Verse



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Happy pride month, Menstruation mention, Trans Male Character, gold swears a lot whoops, non binary character, norman is gold's dad, pokemon double nuzlocke challenge, soulsilvershipping and mangaquestshipping but like 1 mention on 1 line
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 19:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11168202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verse/pseuds/Verse
Summary: Silver is not so sure he is a boy anymore.But he doesn’t feel like a girl, either. No matter how hard he tries, he doesn’t feel like one gender more than the other.And he can only be one, can’t he?





	1. Silver

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miizj](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=miizj).



> Happy pride month everyone
> 
> This was originally written for the pokemon double nuzlocke challenge (which is pretty fun and you should check it out) in which nb Silver is pretty much canon (though trans boi Gold is not, but my fic, my rules)
> 
> Originally submitted here: http://miizj.tumblr.com/post/157039363494/suddenly-queerness  
> And the companion piece: http://miizj.tumblr.com/post/157254698784/kinda-a-followup-to-the-queer-silver-fic-also

Silver is a boy.

Silver knows it, because that’s what everyone tell him; his father call him ‘son’, his mother ‘young man’, the neighbors 'he, him, his’. And adults know best, right? So by all logics, Silver must be a boy.

*

Silver is ten the first time he’s called 'she’.

He’s jumping over the window, stolen food clutched in his hands. Its rightful owner, a breathless old man, attempts -and fail- to catch up with him.

“Get back here little girl!” he hisses, holding his sides.

Silver is aware, in some faraway corner of his mind, that he should probably feel offended. But frankly, the old geezer’s screamings have started to attract attention’s, and he has more important things to worry about.

(He actually forgets about this incident in a couple hours.)

*

Silver is thirteen when Gold gets his first period.

Crystal is out in the field and Gold is positively freaking out, so it falls to Silver to go buy pads and brew hot chocolate and generally calm Gold down, it's okay Gold, you’re not dying, don’t worry we’ll wash your underwear, it’s okay, it’s okay

Still, once Gold _has_ calmed down, sipping the cocoa inside a blanket burrito, Silver can’t help but ask; boys can get periods too?

“Well I do, and I’m a boy, ain’t I?”

That makes sense. But then, what makes a boy a boy?

“I can’t explain. It’s like, in your heart or whatever. You know.”

*

Silver is not so sure he is a boy anymore.

But he doesn’t feel like a girl, either. No matter how hard he tries, he doesn’t feel like one gender more than the other.

And he can only be one, can’t he?

*

Silver is fourteen, and Kotone is the first one to ask.

“Hey Silv, are you a boy or a girl?”

“Don’t you already know?” not an answer, he knows. It’s not a lie if he lets others draw their own conclusions.

“Well I thought you were a boy.” thought. Past tense. “But the other day the cashier called you 'miss’ and you didn’t react, so I thought, maybe I shouldn’t assume?”

Out of all the people Silver holds dearest, Crystal and Gold and Blue and himself, of course Kotone is the first one to notice. Of course.

And Kotone is so nice, and bright, and genuine, Silver thinks he can give her the honest answer. “I don’t know. Do I really have to pick one?”

“Nah.” she says, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. “You can just be 'Silver’.”

*

Not a lot have changed since that day, really.

Kotone still refers to him as a he (she’d asked, he’s okay with that) She still hugs him and lifts him up at random times. She still sings terrible anime songs with him.

But when she talks about him, he notices; he’s not her “boyfriend” anymore, but her “significant other”. He’s not a “ handsome man” , but a “cutie”. He’s not a “ boy”, but a “person”, a “ friend”, “Silver”.

(And frankly, it makes his heart want to fly.)


	2. Gold

Gold is three years old when he realizes that the people around him, his mother, his grandparents, genuinely _don’t know_ he is a boy. The skirts and dresses feel right, but the _daughter_ and _girl_ do not. So he tells them.

It’s obvious the adults think it’s just another game of his, but still, they humor him; oh, there are some slip-ups in the beginning, some _she_ and _her_ here and there, but it gets better. His mother cuts his hair per his request and presents him to the neighbors as her son.

(She’ll stop when he’ll be tired of the game, she thinks. She’ll stop when he’ll ask her to.)

(He never does.)

*

Gold is seven when he meets Crystal.

The girl is crazy strong and so stupidly brave, they hit off almost instantly. They fight and they play and they do stupid pranks and nerdy stuff together.

He never comes out to her, not really. Children are what they are, Crystal literally couldn’t care less about what’s in between Gold’s legs. Moreso, the gender on his ID has long since been changed.

Though, he _does_ tell her that people thought he was a girl for a while. They both find it absolutely hilarious.

*

Gold is twelve when his chest starts growing.

It’s terrible. It aches and itches and how the fuck did Crystal go to puberty when she was traveling with him? What the fuck.

She laughs at him, because she’s been there, grown that, and he flips her the bird, because fuck her that’s why. He’s going to grow bigger breasts just to piss her off, just watch him.

*

(He’s twelve the first time he meets his father, too.

The man is every bit the asshole his mother implied he was, and then some.

Norman says, “I thought I had a daughter.”

Gold glares and says, “You were wrong.”

Gold hates him, but he has to give credits where credits are due; the man consistently refers to him as a young boy from now on.)

*

Gold is thirteen when he gets his first periods. It’s every bits as terrible as books say.

He’s back in Johto for an errant at the time. Precisely, he’s hanging with Silver at the Dragon’s Den when the cramps start and his underwear start to dampen.

Gold… does not take it well.

He moderately freaks out. And by moderately he means extremely.

Silver hugs him tight until his crying stop, rubbing his back and whispering an endless string of it’s okay, it’s okay, we can wash your clothes later no problem, it’s okay, breathe Gold breathe

Eventually, Gold manages to calm down enough to be left alone. Silver rushes to the pokemon center, and comes back with a box of pads, painkillers and a bottle of warm water to put on his stomach. Gold will literally never thank him enough.

(Silver asks a few questions about boys and bodies afterward, but doesn’t press any boundaries. Gold wonders if he’ll have to use “she” for Silver in the near future.)

*

Gold is fourteen and back in Hoenn when Crystal buys him his first binder.

“You are getting pretty big.” she states simply.

Getting it on is more embarrassing than expected, and he has to ask for her help for that. (Hey, how was he supposed to guess he should put it on like a skirt, as opposed to a shirt?)

But the thing is _amazing_. It flattens his chest enough to not have to correct strangers about his gender anymore, it isn’t too tight, he can _breathe_ , and it’s not even that hot.

He loves it.

*

Gold is sixteen when he moves to Sinnoh.

Getting _away_ is more of a necessity than a want at this point. Kanto and Johto constantly remind him of cold snow and sharp winds, and Hoenn… No. Just no.

(He still dreams of drowning, tight darkness, and bright burning light, and choking, choking up there among the cloud and between the stars.)

(They all do.)

But Sinnoh, Sinnoh is different. It’s completely new, absolutely unrelated to anything they’ve done so far.

They can all get better there. Gold can get better there.

(And they do.)

*

Gold is twenty-three, he has a stable job, a beautiful wife, a cozy house, and he sees.

He sees children from all around the region visiting town for their journey. He sees Kotone’s little boy, crawling toward him and calling him ‘uncle’. He sees the toy commercials on TV and the children’s books about local legends.

Gold is twenty-three, and he has an idea.

Crystal agrees, which is not surprising, and even call it a “damn good idea”, which is. Kotone agrees, because she’s Kotone, and there isn’t anything out there she isn’t down for. Silver agrees, because he’s the best bro ever. (Sibling? Nah, bro is a gender-neutral term.)

And so the arrangement is made.

*

Gold has turned twenty-four a month ago when he tackle-hug his wife on the bed.

“Whoa, whoa- what happened? Did you find money or something?” she asks, surprised.

Gold’s grin almost reaches his ears.

“Better. _I’m pregnant._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Related to this fic I commissioned some trans Gold pics afterward and I can't help but share them here:  
> http://miizj.tumblr.com/post/158815252079/more-commissions-for-americanjack-because-its  
> http://miizj.tumblr.com/post/157835744459/more-stuff-for-americanjack-check-out-my

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a review in passing! 
> 
> main blog: versegm.tumblr.com  
> commission info: versegm.tumblr.com/post/156988821097/opening-writing-commissions


End file.
